MS home server users hit by Windows Live Custom Domains snafu

Down and out since Sunday

Many Windows Home Server customers have been unable to access Microsoft's Windows Live Custom Domains service since the weekend.

Some punters are complaining about the problem on the company’s support forum.

Reg reader Mark told us about the cockup, which he believes was caused by upgrades Microsoft made to the service.

“Basically the Windows Home Server software uses Windows Live Custom Domains as a dynamic DNS service, and it appears that MS dropped the ball,” he said.

“It does appear they are working to resolve the issue as the error messages keep changing but if this is a reflection of the level of service we can expect from putting our stuff up into the cloud through Windows Live then it leaves a lot to be desired!”

An MPV on the forum confirmed that the software appeared to have unintentionally shut out lots of WHS customers.

“If you've just set up your server, you may not be able to complete the Remote Access setup, and if it's been working for a while, it's probably reporting that it couldn't update your vanity URL (which happens on a regular schedule). If your IP address at home has changed, your site will probably be unreachable by means of the vanity URL, as well,” explained Ken Warren.

We’ve asked Microsoft to tell us more about what’s gone wrong, and we'll update this story if it gets back to us. ®